


gold star

by amiavegetable



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Drabble, Karasuno vs Seijou, M/M, Yamaguchi's big moment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-11-17
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:44:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8580787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiavegetable/pseuds/amiavegetable
Summary: "I don't think he's actually going to the bathroom", Kei says to anyone who cares, which is no one, since Hinata starts yelling at Kageyama and Kageyama yells back and that about makes every presence in the room forget about Yamaguchi quietly ducking his head from the staircase.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i was feeling frustrated so have this lil thing
> 
> (this takes place before s3 obviously so it might seem a little outdated but yama deserves attention any day)

"I don't think he's actually going to the bathroom", Kei says to anyone who cares, which is no one, since Hinata starts yelling at Kageyama and Kageyama yells back and that about makes every presence in the room forget about Yamaguchi quietly ducking his head from the staircase.

Kei stares intently at the blurry spots that make up his peripheral vision and tunes out the argument next to him. He wonders briefly if Yamaguchi will be okay, and if there is anything he could do. Then he nods to himself. Yamaguchi will figure it out on his own, he's sure. Behind him, Yachi starts pleading the freaks to stop fighting. Kei gathers up his bag and leaves them to it.

(Later, when everyone gathers to board the bus, Yamaguchi will rejoin the group quiet as a ghost. His freckles will stand out a bit more clearly than usual against his skin when he steps past Kei to settle on his window seat, but he will remain silent. He won't sleep on the ride home, Kei will be able to tell behind closed eyelids, but he won't ask him to say anything. They will spend the rest of the drive surrounded by their team members' quiet snores and the low rumbling of Coach and Sensei's voices. Some things are better dealt with on their own.)

-

Aoba Jousai is a cracker.

It shows evidently in how, with progressing time during the second set, the little crease between Coach Ukai's eyebrows deepens noticeably, how Daichi's teeth grind his enamel to powder and how even Sugawara's motivational cheers sound a bit more strained with every hit Oikawa lands on their side of the court. The memory of 33-31 weighs heavy on everyone's shoulders, the sound of the ball dropping to the ground in one final, destroying verdict is still very much present in everyone's ears.

Aoba Jousai is here, and they're terrifying.

Kei is sweating behind his new sports glasses. The air on the court seems almost static with the tension of everyone trying and trying, and failing. He shoots a quick glance to the bench. If Kei's inner clock ticks right, Ukai should be coming up with a possible solution to the stalemate Karasuno's currently in very soon. The other team's lead is worryingly large, and Ukai looks so tense even Hinata should be able to tell.

And then he subs Yamaguchi as the pinch server.

The team immediately surrounds him like a swarm of nervous bees, and nervous they are. It shows in the jitteriness with which they cheer Yamaguchi on, but Kei thinks they deserve points for trying. Yamaguchi seems to think so, too, judging from the way his mouth sets into a firm line. His eyes find Kei's, large and intense with something Kei can't quite identify. It doesn't happen often that he can't read Yamaguchi, and maybe it's the charged quality of the game weighing heavy onto his nerves, but he does what he hasn't done before: he sends him a curt nod of encouragement.

"Nice serve", he says, and determination settles over Yamaguchi's face like a mask.

The referee's signal shrills through the gym. Kei watches Yamaguchi take a deep breath. Straighten his back. Toss the ball in the air, and hit it across the net.

"It's out!", Aoba Jousai's number 7 shouts once the ball reaches their side of the court in a perfect float.

 _No_ , Kei thinks, incredulous, _it's not_.

It's not. The ball hits the court, the red flag points down, and Tanaka's victory scream alone is enough to almost rip Kei's ears off. The entire Karasuno team floods to the back line, raises fists and yells congratulations at Yamaguchi, who looks exactly like you're supposed to look when you just landed a service ace for the first time in your life.

It's a bit of a shock, to look at Yamaguchi. His face is glowing with something a little deeper than pride, his eyes telling the story of someone who ran and came back to succeed. His eyes on him, something in Kei's chest drops all the way to his guts.

 

The second set goes to Aoba Josai, but it's not the crushing loss everyone seemed to have expected somewhere around break time.

"We'll get it back", Daichi says with so much certainty it straightens everyone's morale. Kei finds himself joining into the chorus of "yeah!!" that follows.

Coach Ukai relaxes somewhere in the middle of the third set, and Kei knows what he's about to do.

"Nice serve", he says to Yamaguchi before his mind can catch up with his mouth. Yamaguchi looks up at him, catching the ball Kei nudges in his direction. His eyes are no less intense than before he landed the service ace in the second set, but they've cleared up. This time, Kei can read what now shines bright in Yamaguchi's entire expression, in the way he holds himself and angles his body. There, on the court with the weight of the world on his shoulders, the feeling radiating from Yamaguchi's lithe frame is _confidence_.

 

"Can you _believe_ we won?", Yamaguchi asks afterwards, beaming. Kei blinks. The joy on Yamaguchi's face is too bright, too intense for him to handle. He thinks of Akiteru. Somehow his words seem to make a lot more sense lately.

Kei looks at Yamaguchi's smile, bright as a star. "Yes", he says, and walks off.

-

Nishinoya stills, volleyball still perched between his fingers.

"Have you gotten taller since this morning?", he asks suspiciously, rising to his tippy-toes and squinting right at Yamaguchi's face.

Yamaguchi flushes bright red. "I-"

Nishinoya bounces back onto his feet. "Good game today", he says, suddenly solemn. He reaches up to poke a finger into Yamaguchi's cheek and skips off, his duffel bag almost as big as his entire tiny body.

Yamaguchi stares after him, bewildered. "Wh- What was that?"

Kei resists the urge to smooth his palms over Yamaguchi's face, freckled skin still dusted pink. He shrugs. "Don't know", he mumbles, then, "he's right. You were good today. Couldn't have won without you."

Yamaguchi's face looks like it's on fire. Kei decides it's a good look on him.

"Let's go home", he says, ignores the way his voice rings all soft, even in his own ears. "We have a game to win."

And Yamaguchi nods, nods and holds his head high.

 

**Author's Note:**

> yamaguchi tadashi my tiny son


End file.
